Originally Posted by Bwana:
Once again, don't come in this thread with some kind of political agenda, or you will be shown the door. If you want to go that route, there is a thread about this in DC.
Originally Posted by Dartgod:
People, there is a lot of good information in this thread, let's try to keep the petty bickering to a minimum.
We all have varying opinions about the impact of this, the numbers, etc. We will all never agree with each other. But we can all keep it civil.
Thanks!
Click here for the original OP:
Spoiler!
Apparently the CoronaVirus can survive on a inanimate objects, such as door knobs, for 9 days.
California coronavirus case could be first spread within U.S. community, CDC says
By SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA, JACLYN COSGROVE
FEB. 26, 2020 8:04 PM
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating what could be the first case of novel coronavirus in the United States involving a patient in California who neither recently traveled out of the country nor was in contact with someone who did.
“At this time, the patient’s exposure is unknown. It’s possible this could be an instance of community spread of COVID-19, which would be the first time this has happened in the United States,” the CDC said in a statement. “Community spread means spread of an illness for which the source of infection is unknown. It’s also possible, however, that the patient may have been exposed to a returned traveler who was infected.”
The individual is a resident of Solano County and is receiving medical care in Sacramento County, according to the state Department of Public Health.
The CDC said the “case was detected through the U.S. public health system — picked up by astute clinicians.”
Officials at UC Davis Medical Center expanded on what the federal agency might have meant by that in an email sent Wednesday, as reported by the Davis Enterprise newspaper.
The patient arrived at UC Davis Medical Center from another hospital Feb. 19 and “had already been intubated, was on a ventilator, and given droplet protection orders because of an undiagnosed and suspected viral condition,” according to an email sent by UC Davis officials that was obtained by the Davis Enterprise.
The staff at UC Davis requested COVID-19 testing by the CDC, but because the patient didn’t fit the CDC’s existing criteria for the virus, a test wasn’t immediately administered, according to the email. The CDC then ordered the test Sunday, and results were announced Wednesday. Hospital administrators reportedly said in the email that despite these issues, there has been minimal exposure at the hospital because of safety protocols they have in place.
A UC Davis Health spokesperson declined Wednesday evening to share the email with The Times.
Since Feb. 2, more than 8,400 returning travelers from China have entered California, according to the state health department. They have been advised to self-quarantine for 14 days and limit interactions with others as much as possible, officials said.
“This is a new virus, and while we are still learning about it, there is a lot we already know,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, said in a statement. “We have been anticipating the potential for such a case in the U.S., and given our close familial, social and business relationships with China, it is not unexpected that the first case in the U.S. would be in California.”
It is not clear how the person became infected, but public health workers could not identify any contacts with people who had traveled to China or other areas where the virus is widespread. That raises concern that the virus is spreading in the United States, creating a challenge for public health officials, experts say.
“It’s the first signal that we could be having silent transmission in the community,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “It probably means there are many more cases out there, and it probably means this individual has infected others, and now it’s a race to try to find out who that person has infected.”
On Tuesday, the CDC offered its most serious warning to date that the United States should expect and prepare for the coronavirus to become a more widespread health issue.
“Ultimately, we expect we will see coronavirus spread in this country,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “It’s not so much a question of if, but a question of when.”
According to the CDC’s latest count Wednesday morning, 59 U.S. residents have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus — 42 of whom are repatriated citizens from a Diamond Princess cruise. That number has grown by two since Messonnier’s last count Tuesday, although the CDC was not immediately available to offer details on the additional cases.
More than 82,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported globally, and more than 2,700 people have died, with the majority in mainland China, the epicenter of the outbreak.
But public health leaders have repeatedly reminded residents that the health risk from the novel coronavirus to the general public remains low.
“While COVID-19 has a high transmission rate, it has a low mortality rate,” the state Department of Public Health said in a statement Wednesday. “From the international data we have, of those who have tested positive for COVID-19, approximately 80% do not exhibit symptoms that would require hospitalization. There have been no confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 in the United States to date.”
CDC officials have also warned that although the virus is likely to spread in U.S. communities, the flu still poses a greater risk.
Gostin said the news of potential silent transmission does not eliminate the possibility of containing the virus in the U.S. and preventing an outbreak.
“There are few enough cases that we should at least try,” he said. “Most of us are not optimistic that that will be successful, but we’re still in the position to try.”
Originally Posted by suzzer99:
This is what I don't understand. These things often ease up over the summer - The Spanish Flu did, SARS disappeared when it got warm. Also so far this doesn't seem to be hitting warm weather countries that hard.
Yet damned if you can find one expert or study that even tries to explain why. And I've read about this shit for 8 hours a day for the last month.They all say there is no evidence that summer vs. winter affects it. Maybe they just don't want us to get complacent or something.
I think a lot of it is how much time people spend inside vs outside. On a related note, the ample homeless population in Seattle is so far unaffected by this virus. [Reply]
Originally Posted by MagicHef:
I think a lot of it is how much time people spend inside vs outside. On a related note, the ample homeless population in Seattle is so far unaffected by this virus.
People do spend more time outside, but there is also more sunlight. I'm not sure this thing has really been around long enough to be sure... but in general UV light reduces the life of bacteria and viruses. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BWillie:
Why would it be bad in Africa? Africa has by far the youngest median age population in the world. They are actually probably in the best shape and very few of them are overweight. India also has a relatively young population, especially compared to Italy, and even that of the US.
There is a huge misconception about how this works.
Yes, children under the age of 15 or so do appear to be fine without treatment.
But once you get over 20 and even more so after 30, a significant percentage will develop serious pneumonia and will die without intensive medical treatment that is often lasting up to 3 weeks.
However, those under 50 that get intensive treatment usually make good recovery.
In both Wuhan and now in Italy the death rate for the younger patients went up as hospitals were overwhelmed.
So the younger population will help a lot, no doubt about it. But there are many millions living in slums and not all of them are under 20. Without the ICU care I think they are likely to have a much higher death rate than has been seen so far.
And they aren't overweight but many are malnourished and are already suffering from other chronic diseases. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chief Pagan:
There is a huge misconception about how this works.
Yes, children under the age of 15 or so do appear to be fine without treatment.
But once you get over 20 and even more so after 30, a significant percentage will develop serious pneumonia and will die without intensive medical treatment that is often lasting up to 3 weeks.
However, those under 50 that get intensive treatment usually make good recovery.
In both Wuhan and now in Italy the death rate for the younger patients went up as hospitals were overwhelmed.
So the younger population will help a lot, no doubt about it. But there are many millions living in slums and not all of them are under 20. Without the ICU care I think they are likely to have a much higher death rate than has been seen so far.
And they aren't overweight but many are malnourished and are already suffering from other chronic diseases.
Thanks for that information. That's quite frightening. Where have you read about what medical assistance ppl in their 30s need to get when they get Pneumonia or 30 somethings death rate in Italy? [Reply]
Originally Posted by Chief Pagan:
There is a huge misconception about how this works.
Yes, children under the age of 15 or so do appear to be fine without treatment.
But once you get over 20 and even more so after 30, a significant percentage will develop serious pneumonia and will die without intensive medical treatment that is often lasting up to 3 weeks.
However, those under 50 that get intensive treatment usually make good recovery.
In both Wuhan and now in Italy the death rate for the younger patients went up as hospitals were overwhelmed.
So the younger population will help a lot, no doubt about it. But there are many millions living in slums and not all of them are under 20. Without the ICU care I think they are likely to have a much higher death rate than has been seen so far.
And they aren't overweight but many are malnourished and are already suffering from other chronic diseases.
Where are you getting this info? Most who have died were 80+ [Reply]
Originally Posted by Titty Meat:
Where are you getting this info? Most who have died were 80+
This. Sounds dubious at best. Most statistics I've seen show people in their 30s or close to it having an extremely low death rate, and around of 80% of all people having mild complications. [Reply]
